June 16, 2017

It's with a heavy heart I announce that my father, Glen Lewis Witt, passed away on June 13, 2017. He lived until age 98 and we are so grateful to have had him with us that long. He founded Glen-L Marine in 1953 and will be remembered for the lives he's touched all these years through the hobby of building boats.

I'm blessed to be able to continue his legacy here at Glen-L, but will miss his presence, support, encouragement and tremendous knowledge of all things boat building. We sincerely hope you'll help us keep his legacy alive by building his boats as we continue to serve you.

The family is making plans for a memorial and we will keep you informed. In the meantime, you can make a comment and post photos on the memorial site we are building.

May 14, 2016

Talk about windage!In the back of my mind, I see a movie with this yacht out at sea in a storm. Up from the deep dark depths emerges a monster from some old sailor's tale who breaks off the curvy superstructure thingy and bites down crushing the terrified caviar eating Russian oligarchs (the targeted clientele).

Let's listen to the marketing spiel from the boy wonder "Designer," Gabriel Teruzzi.

“There are precious examples like the Tower of Babel, the Pyramids in Egypt and today in the magnificent skyscrapers.

“The wish to touch the clouds continues to be present in the most powerful minds.”

Now that's something you don't see everyday: A giant floating egg!Yes, Virginia. The British are a little different from you and me. Not only are they super competive, they're very eccentric. Thank God! We need a little more levity in this seemingly sour world.

"Created by Stephen Turner, the Exbury Egg will be a temporary, energy efficient self-sustaining work space for artist Stephen Turner in the estuary of the River Beaulieu. It is a place to stay and a laboratory for studying the life of a tidal creek, a collecting and collating centre with integral storage & display areas. It will take on the patina of 730 daily tides below the water line, and 365 days of weathering by wind, rain and bleaching by the sun above."

"So in less time than it takes to tell the tale, Sherman and I found ourselves back in the late sixties."

"Mr. Peabody, if I didn't know any better, I would think I am hallucinating. Is that because we had mushrooms on our pizza or is that really a hydrofoiling trimaran?"

"Sherman, you are not hallucinating. What you are looking at is the 32-foot Williwaw, the world's first hydrofoil sailing yacht. She was developed by Dave Keiper. The Williwaw cruised around the Pacific in the late 1960s, early 1970s, sailing as far south as New Zealand."

Remembering Dave Keiper and WILLIWAW...

[29 Mar 00] I was lucky enough in life to have sailed with Dave Keiper in the summer of 1971 on the most incredible boat I have ever sailed on. We were anchored in the middle of Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai when Dave came in and dropped anchor. We had seen WILLIWAW flying around Waikiki a month or so before and were surprised to see her here. I had sailed over with a man named Gordy Gladson on his tri, and as all trimaran sailors in those days knew each other, we swam over to have a visit . Of course Dave (most gracious) had to show off the boat. We put out to sea in about a 15 knot trade wind on a beam reach. The boat started heeling like a monohull, and then the foils got a bite and the boat came up out of the water and accelerated like a car...what a rush!!! The boat was so fast and stable Dave could walk away from the tiller and she would run like she was on rails. This was truly one of the most memorable days of my sailing life of 35 years. .... -- Jim Wrenn

September 22, 2009

Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch, has a new boat called the Eclipse. She exceeds 540 feet and has two helipads, a swimming pool, bulletproof glass, a steam room and a personal submarine. Price for this floating palace is a cool $1.2 billion. It's good to know that some people aren't hurting during this recession.

December 21, 2007

For those skeptics out there, here a couple of old posts from version 1.

Speaking of Kites.posted 12/08/04Look Ma, no spinnaker!

Sean Langman’s 66-foot AAPT will use a kite instead of a spinnaker in thisyears Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Kite boarders can apply! The approach to Sydney Harbor.

The OutLeader™ kite flies in the stronger stablewind well above the level of the boat’s masthead, providing enormous pulling power.The kite looks like half of a giant parachute, but measures as a spinnaker. Unlike anormal spinnaker, it is sheeted only from the deck, so it doesn’t contribute to heelingthe boat or burying the bow. This means that the risks of uncontrolled spinnakerwipe-outs are almost eliminated.

KiteShip rocks! I want one for my boat. I'll have to wait for them to build a smaller chute for my little boat. :( When that happens I'll say, "See ya later spinnaker!"

What Was Once Old Is New Again.posted 10/05/05A return to sail power? Kite powered ships, no masts required!The Economist has a nice article on the return of sailing ships in it's September 23rd issue.

January 19, 2007

Ugo Conti's spider boat, the Proteus, goes for a spin on the bay.The boat made it's public debut yesterday, unfortunately I did not get to see it. Read more about Spidey at SFGate or Sailing Anarchy. Pics here.

November 29, 2005

Many of you know that I have a special place in my heart for skiffs. Some critics, OLE, look at these as not being boats. Okay, I concede that you aren't going to take your Aunt Martha fishing on it, but what a rocket! A big plus for me is that this boat can be built at home.

The new R Class hull designed by Dan Leech.

Here she is ready to go.The new lady is introduced to her admiring public. She seems to be watching her weight coming in at a mere 29kg. Atkins? South Beach? Nope, Kiwi!

Sorry Aunt Martha, you can't come!Look at her go! She makes me weak in the knees, how abou you?.